Trends in Human Settlements

• Prior to the 18th century, most cities of various

civilizations did not exceed 50,000 inhabitants.
• With small populations and no mechanical means of
transportation, most cities of the past, even the larger
ones, did not exceed 2 kms and could be crossed on
foot in not more than 20 minutes.
• Thus, these towns were built on human scale.
 Trends in Human Settlements
For about 10,000 years, Man lived in villages, and
For more than 5,000 years …
in small urban settlements whose size and slow
growth permitted the creation of continuous and
compact settlements, and endowed these with
values which remain important.
In almost all these settlements, the 5 elements of
human settlements –
nature, man, shelter, society and network
were in complete balance.
Trends in Human Settlements
However, at the start of the 18th century until the 19th
century, and especially in the 20th century,
- the picture completely changed … the elements
of human settlements have developed
individually and in turn, the balance among them
was lost.
Man developed demographically, culturally and
intellectually.
Society grew and became more complex.
 Trends in Human Settlements
Industrial Revolution brought large masses of people to
live within cities.
More and more people live in metropolitan areas, but
even the most economically successful of these regions
manifest sharply uneven development.
 For instance, gentrified neighbourhoods adjacent to low-
income areas display the emblems of affluence, and suburban
enclaves of privilege, increasingly set off by walls and gates,
sharpen the distinctions between the haves and have-nots.
 Trends in Human Settlements

At the end of the 20th century, urban areas are vastly

different from the metropolises of a hundred years earlier.
• The old central cities contain a shrinking proportion of regional
wealth and population.
• Although some cities are the command center of the global
economy or nests of technological innovation, others have lost
economic function even while they still encompass large
populations.
• Environmental pollution, traffic congestion, racial and ethnic
discrimination, and financial crises afflict many urban cores.
Urban Settlement Pattern of Man

Villages

Town

City

Metropolis

Megalopolis

Urban Region
 Evolution of Planning

 1st stage – master plan or blueprint era

 2nd stage – systems view of planning

 3rd stage – participative-conflict in

planning
Evolution of Planning continued

• 1st stage – master plan or blueprint era

Main concern: Set out the desired future, in

terms of land-use patterns on the ground
(maps);

Old planners, e.g., Geddes or Abercrombie;

Set up after WWII … After the 1947 Town and

Country Planning Act of Great Britain.
Evolution of Planning continued

• 2nd stage – systems view of planning

Under the 1968 Planning Act – embodied new
structure plans;

Managing and controlling a particular system …

the urban and regional system;

Concentrated on the objectives of the plan and

on alternative ways of reaching them (writing
rather than detailed maps).
Evolution of Planning continued
• 3rd stage – participative-conflict in planning

Emphasis on tracing the possible consequences

of alternative policies;

Evaluating alternatives against objectives and

then choosing a course of action;

Monitoring process is continually repeated.

 History of Planning in the Philippines

• Pre-Hispanic Filipino Settlements –

communities called barangays settled by
separate kinship groups within their respective
defined territories.

• Manila was already a homogenous population

of 3,000 inhabitants before Spain came. It was
an important Muslim outpost held by Rajah
Soliman.
 History of Planning in the Philippines
• Spanish Colonial Period – gridiron
arrangement … “plaza complex”. The church
and town hall were the dominant structures.
Streets were laid to provide a continuous route
for religious processions.

• The compact villages provided a framework for

rapid Christian indoctrination and societal
organization. (Fort Santiago)
 History of Planning in the Philippines
• Towards the end of the 19th century, road
building programs were introduced by the
Spanish government … the Manila-Dagupan
railway.

• Similar settlements were built by the Spaniards

throughout the country … Fort Del Pilar in
Zamboanga, Davao, Ilocos, Visayas, etc.
 History of Planning in the Philippines
• American Era – saw the urgent need for guiding
the urban growth and physical development of the
country … concentrated in planning of cities
where growth was inevitable.

Examples: development of waterfront; location of parks

and parkways as a means of recreation to every
quarter of the city.
 History of Planning in the Philippines
• Street system securing direct and easy
communication from one district to another;
• Location of building site for various activities;
• Development of waterways for transportation;
and
• Summer resorts.
 History of Planning in the Philippines
• Settlements During the New Republic –
the problem of housing, health and sanitation
became the major concerns.

The People’s Homesite and Housing

Corporation (PHHC), now the National
Housing Authority (NHA) purchased 1,572 has.
in Q.C. (including UP area) for Php2.0 million
… for the different housing projects.
History of Planning in the Philippines
• Settlements During WWII – about 4/5 of
Greater Manila Area was devastated. Manila
was a “giant slum”.

• Pres. Roxas instructed the National Housing

Commission in 1946 to build houses for the
US-Philippine War Damage Commission.

• The National Urban Planning Commission was

created to prepare general plans, zoning
ordinances and subdivision regulations.
History of Planning in the Philippines
• Post War Settlements – President Quirino
created the National Planning Commission
(NPC) … for more integrated planning in the
urban and regional areas.
 History of Planning in the Philippines
NPC has prepared a master plan for Manila by 1954
with the following objectives:
1. Make Manila a convenient and ideal place for settlement, work,
play and own;
2. Remedy the critical traffic congestion;
3. Prevent overcrowding of population;
4. Use land optimally;
5. Distribute schools and playgrounds;
6. Protect and promote healthy property values;
7. Utilize existing improvements.